***PHOTOGRAPHER APPROVAL REQUIRED. FEATURE SALES ONLY. *** July 9, 2015. Outside Dnepopetrovsk, Ukraine.
This is a female soldier in Donbas Battalion. She has never been to front lines, but is in training and would one day like to fight. Women are not allowed by law to fight in official army groups. So women who would like to fight must join volunteer battalions, where they risk their lives for no pay. Donbas battalion started as a volunteer battalion but are now part of the official army.
This series features female fighters from both sides of the conflict in East Ukraine. Ukraine had a revolution in 2013, which started as a peaceful protest in favor of ties with the European Union, until it quickly spun into an anti-government revolution after police forces aggressively intervened. The situation escalated into what is now a war between Pro Russians and Pro Ukrainians. There is a line in East Ukraine, where these two sides stake their places, and it attracts soldiers of all ages and training levels to fight for their territory. Some of these soldiers are volunteers, risking their lives for no payment. And, some of these soldiers are women. Whether these women want to avenge the deaths of their loved ones, fight against corruption, support their political ideals or live alongside their husbands and family members who are also fighting, they all chose to go to war. Due to the amount of misrepresentation women face in the media, I felt it was important to tell this story. For example, when I google images of ?female soldiers in Ukraine?, the majority of content that appears is propaganda, depicting ?sexy? female soldiers, looking ridiculous while they load guns, drive tanks and stand in front of smoky bomb attacks. Those images are not real --They are designed to recruit men into the military by making it look exciting. But those images also make a mockery of women?s role in war.Choosing what side to fight for is often deeply personal. Rather than highlighting t